Home Educating?

[catalyst]

20,000 home-educators really? fantastic. its great to read all these home educating parents. my kids are all now grown up, and although there were scary times teaching them at home, when they didnt want to read or work at anything (we were very into letting them direct themselves), they are all very nice stable 6 interesting adults now... and they all love to read, learn etc unlike so many who have been through the school system...

[baldowrie]

more and more people are opting for home education in Britain, particularly Scotland, today. It is known as the silent protest against state run education which is failing many children.

In Scotland, I have been reliably informed, there are no such thing as special educational needs children So where does that leave children who need help? Unless you find a teacher willing to personally take on board the child problems it often leaves them being wrongly treated, unjustly punished and dare I say bullied?

Is it little wonder home education is on the increase?

[catalyst]

in my opinion all children have special needs, we are all individuals, and any mass educational system has to some degree ignore those differences and work to make everyone fit into a mould...
loads of famous people were home educated, including albert einstein - i wonder if he'd have been recognised as a genius if he'd been told in school 'stop daydreaming' and 'facts are facts, stop asking stupid questions and learn our acceptable answers'.

home education often felt like a scary experiment, giving our children freedom to be themselves, while all around school children are being denied that right and forced to comply to 'normality'.

we always had people asking us, but how do they make friends if they arent in school? i'd reply 'how do you make friends?' and 'my children arent scared of adults, they have friends of all ages, but people they like not just the people of their own ages that they are forced to spend their days with' (as in school).

i've been talking to some friends of mine who are planning to have children soon, about home education. they say 'we aren't educated enough to teach our own kids'. i reply 'you cant teach, that is a false notion. people only truly learn from a true interest in a subject, and provided you help your children read (when they want to, my kids saw no reason to read until they were 13, while my wife's son loved reading from age 4) they can then find out for themselves other subjects of interest & you simply give them access to basic resources, or more in depth when they decide the want them'. all my kids have interests in subjects that i don't - and so their knowledge of these subjects far surpasses my own.

oops, i seem to have rambled on, this is a subject close to my heart!

[Clara]

Catalyst, did you home ed in Portugal? Please forgive me if i´m wrong, but I assume you are not portugese.

The reason I ask is that is because I would like to avoid state schooling but feel that I might be putting my daughter at risk of not integrating with language etc. I´d like to hear from anyone who´s done it abroad.

I´ve got a few years yet mind, perhaps I could get it together with other like minded parents, english, spanish, whatever....

Clara x

[catalyst]

my children were teenagers when we moved here.
the boys didnt go to school, but my daughter decided she wanted to. she endured a year of bullying (mainly from kids, because her portuguese wasnt great, but also by teachers), then decided to try the uk system for a year, which was just as unpleasant. caged animals often attack anything that isnt like them, especially other creatures who have had more freedom).
but, her portuguese is better than most of ours. my boys deny being able to speak portuguese but have a large number of friends in the local community.
what do your children think. its surprising how very young children can make their own decisions, if given the chance. i've always allowed them to make their own minds up, and they have always seen schools as prisons.

[hamster]

http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools ... 00,00.html

Bah. Not a parent, not going to be for a while, not necessarily going to HE, but this still annoyed me.

[red]

This Tony Mooney bloke is always making anti HE statements - suspect he has a hidden agenda..

[Clara]

my children were teenagers when we moved here.
the boys didnt go to school, but my daughter decided she wanted to. she endured a year of bullying (mainly from kids, because her portuguese wasnt great, but also by teachers), then decided to try the uk system for a year, which was just as unpleasant. caged animals often attack anything that isnt like them, especially other creatures who have had more freedom).
but, her portuguese is better than most of ours. my boys deny being able to speak portuguese but have a large number of friends in the local community.
what do your children think. its surprising how very young children can make their own decisions, if given the chance. i've always allowed them to make their own minds up, and they have always seen schools as prisons.

Well that´s interesting. As far as what my kid (singular at the mo) thinks, she usually says cooooo, dribble, oooweeeooo - that´s her in the avatar!

[mrsflibble]

Me and hubby both had such a crappy time at school we're seriously considering it for our little darling, but then I keep getting told by people that she needs the interaction of other children. Until we can adopt her a little sister or brother (I nearly died giving birth to her) she will be an only child and so wont get the interaction anywhere else. Do any of you who home school have this problem?

[Magpie]

I'm often asked about the socialisation thing, and will admit it is a problem, but we are cutting back on visits and outings, so I think I'm getting it under control...

Seriously though, it takes a bit of a mind-shift, getting away from the idea that children's socialisation only occurs between children of exactly the same age... my 6YO son's two best friends are a 4Yo boy and a 14 YO girl, so friendships can develop between the most unlikely pairs. Hey, a bit like grown-ups - now isn't that funny!

[red]

the socialisation question always comes up. for us it different as my son has trouble interacting with others - and founds the school settinbv very stressful.
however there are many thriving groups in my area - perhasps Mrs F you could go along to some of the home ed groups in your area and just see how you like them etc... even if its lots before time.. sort of see hoow you feel about it then etc,

[Magpie]

Yes, Red, our local group welcomes everyone, even those with just one baby. If your local group has a regular playgroup, Mrs Flibble, all the better! Certainly worth investigating, as you then get to meet lots of different folk with different views.

[Trinity]

Me and hubby both had such a crappy time at school we're seriously considering it for our little darling, but then I keep getting told by people that she needs the interaction of other children. Until we can adopt her a little sister or brother (I nearly died giving birth to her) she will be an only child and so wont get the interaction anywhere else. Do any of you who home school have this problem?

Is there no way that she would be able to interact with other children?
Perhaps there are pleasant groups, or another family with a home ed child? Is there anything that fits in with your way of life going on in your area?

I have an onlychild. We spent a lot of time exploring nature, hanging out together, socialisation doesn't seem to be a problem. I have always trusted that we will find friends if we need to, and if not we will be happy with what we have been blessed with. He is happy with his own company, although we now do meet up with other home ed children at times too (although we certainly don't over do it).

I've just enrolled him on a bushcraft course later this month.

Earlier this week I organised a trip for local homeschoolers to an local natural educational centre where they were learning about natural dyeing, hands on experience of building a round house, learning about how life used to be in without electricity and the resources of the modern world (perfect!!!). It was an excellent time for kids with common interests to connect and make friends too.

I realised though if I hadn't made the effort (and it wasn't that much effort to be honest) then the trip would have never happened. In the end 24 children showed up! I was bowled over with the enthusiasm. Sometimes a bit a resourcefulness and creativity to make these things happen, but it can be worth it. I guess it depends where we are too.

All in all, my son prefers just to have a couple of friends, rather than a mass of socialisation. I find that it can be great for their confidence just coming along to do everything with us grown ups. They often seem to learn to articulate clearly and communicate with a whole range of ages too. If they are shy, then it seems to work really well too, because the pressure to 'perform' or be something they are not isn't usually there in a home ed environment. It can do wonders for confidence.

Love
Trinity

[catalyst]

i socialise with people that i connect with, that i like and have things in common with. why should children be treated any differently?

the socialisation question is a red herring. the biggest limitations to childrens ability to socialise is the fact that most kids go to school, but we always found home educating groups for the kids to mix with people their own age.
almost all the home educated kids i've met (including my own) are confident communicators and socialisers, but also dont have a problem spending time alone.
its well-known in the home educating community that kids who have been to school go though a year or more of acclimatising to the freedom of home education. boredom, listlessness, lack of interest etc. i guess once you are used to someone else (teachers) making all the decisions of what to do each day, it can take a while to refind yourself. sometimes this can be hard to cope with for parents, and i'd advise new home educators to give your children as much space as they need (alongside gentle encouragement). i wonder how many potential geniuses have been quashed through being viewed as lazy, dreamy, or un-motivated, and forced to 'learn' things they have no interest in?

[mrsflibble]

what about exams? I mean I am all for other "ways of life" but the outside world don't seem so open minded. How would Sophie do standard exams * ?



(* NOTHING until GCSE, children are put under far far too much pressure)